Ryoma's Surprise
by C-nonymous
Summary: It's the prince and the tensai, plus Ochibi-chan's birthday! What more can you ask for? Enjoy reading and Happy Christmas to everyone!


**Author's Note: **Just a little something for Ochibi-chan's birthday. Ryoma will get a surprise, but whose surprise is it? Hope you will like this one. Rated for sh-ai hints, and it's not between Oishi and Eiji.

**Disclaimer: **Prince of Tennis is the original story of Takeshi Konomi. Only this little ficcie is mine.

**Ryoma's Surprise **

'It's Ochibi's birthday today, nya! Any idea guys?'

Eiji, Oishi and Fuji were having some light practice that morning at the street tennis courts. Eiji is in his usual hyperactive self and would have done some acrobatic moves only Oishi clamped an arm around him to anchor him by his side.

'Calm down, will you? How can we think properly with you bouncing around?' he said.

Fuji piped in, 'you can't blame Eiji though. It has been two days since he has been asking us to do something for Echizen on his birthday. I take it you want to throw a party for him?'

'Nya! Fuji is sooo smart that he knows what I want for Ochibi,' Eiji exclaimed at the same time glomping onto a smiling Fuji.

'Good morning, guys. What are you doing here? Aren't we supposed on a tennis break today?' Momoshiro greeted them.

Fuji noted that Momoshiro was carrying a cat in his arms. He remembered seeing the cat passed by his house before. He was sure that it was the same cat as it was a special breed, definitely not the usual ones running around the area.

'A very unusual cat you got there, Momo-chan,' he asked in which the other boy replied, 'it's the Echizen's family cat. I saw it roaming around again and I was about to return it back.'

Momoshiro should have been alerted the moment Fuji-sempai has asked him about the cat. A questioning Fuji meant an interested Fuji and everyone knows that a Fuji interested in something is always a bad sign. Always. Momoshiro felt a shiver run down his spine when he finally chanced to see the innocent smile pasted on Fuji's face. An innocently smiling Fuji is worse than an interested-Fuji, although it's good that the eyes are not yet opened else things would be bordering on the catastrophic. He put a protective arm around the cat as if to protect it from his sempai.

'I have an idea,' Fuji said. That sounded ominous.

Ryoma have just woken up to cloudy skies that day. He looked at his clock and saw that it was only nine in the morning. He would have gone back to bed but the irritating sound of the doorbell has pulled him to look out his bedroom window. He saw Fuji-sempai carrying a particularly docile Karupin in his arms. His cat is aloof with other people, let alone a stranger. _There is something wrong with this picture_, he thought and went down to get the cat.

'I take it this cat is yours,' Fuji stated. Karupin quickly ran inside the house after Fuji put him down.

'Huh? How did you know that Fuji-sempai?' Ryoma asked but was answered back with a smile on the older boy's face.

Ryoma was annoyed by this and would have turned away but he noticed that Fuji-sempai was in his tennis clothes. It reminded him of the time that they played against each other and the game was halted because of the rain. That unfinished match left an unsatisfying feeling inside him ever since. It had always been his rule to finish all his games, no matter what happens. The clouds doesn't look that it will be raining though and so he decided to finish that match once and for all.

'Since you are here, how about we have a game Fuji-sempai?' he asked.

'I'm sorry, but I only play if there are stakes involved. The game is much more exciting that way, don't you think?' Fuji said.

Ryoma didn't think that at all and wondered why his sempai have said that. He was quite suspicious of the older boy with his smiling face but his desire to beat this tensai have made him reckless to agree to his terms. He will win after all, he promised to himself.

'What stakes are you talking about?' he inquired.

'Well, you could go out with me tonight if I win,' said a smiling Fuji. 'How about you? What do you want in case you win?'

'WHEN I win,' Ryoma stated, 'then you will play with me seriously for a month.'

Ryoma thought that that would put some pause in his sempai, but felt some dread when Fuji immediately agreed to his condition. They shake hands at this and Ryoma led the smiling tensai to the tennis court near the temple before going up to change into his tennis wear. He was a bit scared about the whole game and all but refused to show any emotion in front of his sempai, which will surely be used to that one's advantage if ever he got wind of it.

It was early in the evening and Ryoma was out together with Fuji. He was still in shock because he had lost in their game earlier. Not only that but he was actually trashed by his sempai at the score of 6-1. And the way that the older boy was acting towards him was not a bit reassuring at all. It was as if Fuji-sempai was, he cringe at the word, flirting with him.

That's right. It was his sempai's behavior that has been bothering him all day. The way he smiled and the way that he looked at him was enough to make him lose his concentration in the game. And now he has to go with Fuji-sempai this night. On his birthday. This day is turning out to be a nightmare.

'Is something bothering you?'

Fuji's words suddenly cut into Ryoma's thoughts. He heard the concern in his sempai's voice and he furtively looked at him, gauging his mood by the smile on his face. Being a regular for quite some time now, he has already seen the many facets of the Fuji smile. There is the regular smile for normal occasions, the small smile in times of trouble, the innocent smile during mischief, and the serious smile when it's payback time. No need to be alarmed this time as the regular smile is presented, at least for the moment. Although he should give an answer to his sempai's question.

'N-nothing.'

_It's really hard to be with Fuji-sempai,_ Ryoma thought. _You have to be on your toes when he is around. Not much is known about him. What others know were spread out in whispers, and kept in secret. I also heard that bit about him being the overly protective brother. Who in hell cares about that? Duh, men are such prudes. It's actually not anyone's business whoever Fuji-sempai wanted to protect... or something. And why did I suddenly have this urge to defend this particular sempai?_

Fuji's soft laughter again recalled Ryoma back to his surroundings. They are standing in front of a modest-sized house, which Fuji was saying as his. He looked to see that the inside of the house was dark, no lights were opened, and he immediately had a shadow of foreboding. Fuji grabbed his shoulders and turned Ryoma to face him.

'There is something I want to tell you.'

There was urgency in Fuji-sempai's voice and Ryoma's heart started to beat fast. He wanted to break away from the tensai's hold or look away from that piercing gaze, but he just couldn't. All he did was close his eyes and wait for the inevitable.

'Happy birthday, Echizen!'

Ryoma almost jumped out upon hearing that loud cheer. He saw that the regulars were inside the sempai's house, which is now flooded with lights. There was Oishi holding the cake and Kikumaru doing some acrobatics and a 'happy birthday Ochibi' cheer. Also, Momoshiro, Kaidou, Kawamura, and Inui were there holding onto their gifts. After greeting Ryoma, they all piled and went back to the dining area, leaving Fuji and Ryoma at the door. Kikumaru called out to them.

'Hurry up, you two. We are all hungry nya!'

The room became silent once everyone has gone away. Ryoma was still stunned by what has happened that it took a few seconds to register in his mind that soft, warm lips have captured his for a kiss. The surprised gasp that escaped his lips was drowned in that passionate kiss between him and Fuji. His first kiss.

'W-wh-wha_' Ryoma stuttered.

'Didn't you know?' said Fuji, 'Surprise is the best seduction, my dear.'

Afterthoughts: That last line from Fuji was taken from a Cindy Holbrook novel, so it's not mine either. It suitable for the mood, so there. Also, the sempai term was used instead of the regular senpai because I liked the way it sounded. And the jibe on men being prude are not meant to be offensive to men, sorry. Any views, comments... violent reactions?


End file.
